


Moment by Moment

by TasteyWatermelonandJean25



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M, Foster Care, Gang Violence, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-02-18 01:17:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2329925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TasteyWatermelonandJean25/pseuds/TasteyWatermelonandJean25
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So far, Eren's life has been a living hell. Along with Mikasa, the duo are always on the run from the demons that haunt them on a daily basis. Eren never cared much about his future or anyone else in the matter.</p><p>He plans to live only for himself. But after an escape from abusive foster parents, Eren and Mikasa end up living in a momentary peace as part of a gang called "104th Squad."</p><p>Unfortunately, the short lived peace doesn't last long as everyone ends up in this specialized charter school in Trost City.</p><p>Enter Levi, a sassy no nonsense therapist who isn't afraid of putting anyone in their place. Getting Eren to act in line can be quite the handful, but Levi's not afraid to teach him a lesson.</p><p>There's only one little problem: Levi and Eren are starting to fall in love with each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Taking a Stand

**Author's Note:**

> Taken exclusively from my personal life. Not in its entirety, but many emotional aspects are influenced by it.
> 
> I warn for anything that may be self triggering such as self harm and any acts of violence. All names used are entirely coincidental.
> 
> Thank You

* * *

Modern Day

* * *

 

Eren stared up at the sky with intense focus. It proved to be a beautiful shade of blue with a scatter of clouds here and there. He noticed the birds chirping and enjoyed the feel of the sun on his back. It's been years since he ventured into normal everyday society. Looking back, Eren wondered how the hell he survived all he did. Glancing around, Eren sighed and rested against the bench while enjoying the beautiful view.

'I'm finally going to be okay.' Eren paused, fear suddenly clouding his judgement. 'Don't be afraid. You have reason to smile. Smile, dammit.' Eren took a deep breath and cracked a smile. Everything's okay, no need to live in fear anymore. Life was still far from perfect, but it was finally starting to brighten up for the first time in the teen's life. Eren stood up and braced himself for the adversity he would face today. The ruling would be the final decision regarding the future of his life.

'Well. Here goes nothing.' Eren ran a quick comb through his hair before deciding to enter the law office building.

 

* * *

 Three Years Previous

* * *

 

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT!? YOU CALL THIS DINNER!?" Hank Stevenson grabbed the platter and flung it at Eren's face. "WELL!? PICK THIS UP!"

Doubled over in pain, Eren cautiously approached the broken platter on the floor. THWACK. A burning sensation started to spread from his back to his hind legs. Eren looked up to see the man holding a broom in his hand. Quickly looking down, Eren started to clean the contents from the floor with rapid fire, fear giving him sudden energy.

"THE FUCK YOU'RE LOOKING AT!? PICK IT UP YOU LITTLE SHIT." Hank glowered down at the boy before deciding to hit him again. His wife, Sarah Stevenson, ran downstairs to see what all the screaming was about.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

"THIS PIECE OF SHIT DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SERVE ME SOME PROPER FOOD."

"THEN TEACH HIM!"

"I AM! IT'S NOT ME FAULT HE'S STUPID!"

Sarah waited for Eren to pick up the garbage from the floor. After he thoroughly cleaned the mess, Sarah grabbed him by the arm before roughly shoving him into the wall. "Listen here, you little fucker. Our house, our rules. Unless you want us to hand you over on the streets, you better learn how to do things properly. Now get your sorry ass downstairs with that bastard child of a sister you have."

Eren bristled at Sarah's racist remark towards his sister, Mikasa. What he wanted was to pummel them both to the ground and escape. But that seemed unlikely as the boy grunted before running downstairs as fast as he could.

Mikasa was sitting there cleaning the cabinet before noticing the mark on Eren's cheek. "Eren!" She ran over and wrapped him in her embrace before anxiously doing the best she could to clean his wounds. "Eren what happened?"

"Same old shit. The old bastard threw a plate at me. I should've kicked his ass.." Eren muttered in pure irritation as he let Mikasa care for his wounds. Mikasa put up a finger to her mouth to tell him to shush. They talked to each other all the time, but only did so in whispers. If they were too loud, Hank and Sarah had no problem running downstairs and beating them both at once.

"How's Armin?"

"Still in bad shape. I can't find out anything though. You remember the last time we saw him. He had bruises all over his legs." Armin was their childhood friend who, like them, lived in a foster family. While Mikasa and Eren dealt with verbal and physical abuse, the pair surmised that Armin was a constant victim to sexual abuse. Shivering at the thought of Armin dealing with being molested, Eren sighed before continuing, "We have to get out of here."

"And go where?"

"Anywhere but here!"

A series of footsteps started down the stairs and Hank stood there. "What did I tell you two worthless...sons of a bitches about being quiet.."

Mikasa stood up first, not afraid to shield Eren from Hank's rage. "Sir.. I was the one who shouted. Please.. don't hurt him."

"Move." The man roughly pushed Mikasa away before punching Eren in the stomach. Eren screamed and fell to his knees while Hank continued to beat him.

"Keep him quiet." Hank walked back up the stairs whistling a tune as Eren wiped blood from his mouth.

"Eren let me-"

"No..."

"Eren please.." Eren jerked and looked at Mikasa square in the face.

"I know I've always talked about an escape plan. But I have an idea and I need you to roll with it."

Mikasa nodded as Eren urgently whispered his plan into her ear. Falling into an uneasy sleep, Eren dreamt of a life outside of the hell they were living in while Mikasa dreamed of the past before their lives were uprooted.

Life wasn't always this bad for Eren and Mikasa. Both siblings lived in sweet harmony with Eren's parents, Grisha and Carla Yeager. Mikasa's parents were killed in a car accident leaving her as the only survivor. Grisha and Carla were more than happy to adopt Mikasa into their household and help her cope with the pain. Eren was enthusiastic, he loved the idea of finally having a sibling. The four of them lived in harmony until a fatal tragedy occurred.

It was a normal morning when Grisha was driving the kids home from shopping at the super market. What no one expected was the true horror of their house being set on fire. Losing everything was extremely hard to cope with. However, the worst part was what happened to their beloved mother, Carla. Carla died in the fire while trying to escape. To this day, no one really knows what happened to ignite the fire.

Life started to fall apart one day after another. After the fire, the trio was left homeless and in dire need of proper care. Grisha was a skilled doctor, but his job fell through. They lived an uneasy life for a full year while Grisha worked constantly to care for Eren and Mikasa. It seemed life never gave the kids a break as Grisha literally worked himself to death. Stress was also a major factor as well.

Following his funeral, the kids were taken into custody by the state and forced to live with a foster family, the Stevensons. On paper, Hank and Sarah proved to be kind and patient. But nobody knew the real truth, despite Eren and Mikasa's numerous attempts to prove the real nature of Hank and Sarah.

And so, that's how daily life was for Eren and Mikasa. They made quick friends with Armin when they saw him being physically attacked by a group of neighborhood kids. Armin's parents died when he was young, so Armin never really had clear memory of his childhood with them. Although the trio was constantly watched, they did manage to send each other notes or set dates to meet up and discuss what's going on.

Neither Eren nor Mikasa, had any idea what was in store for them the next day.

 

* * *

 

The day started as usual, Hank and Sarah were asleep in their master bedroom which meant the siblings needed to clean up the house as quickly as they could. They also had to make breakfast to exact perfection before the adults even woke up. The chores were the usual: scrubbing the floors, dusting the tables, and so forth. Hank and Sarah seemed to be in a better mood as they silently ate their breakfast and lazily ordered the kids to do yard work.

A sudden noise erupted from within the house causing Eren and Mikasa to run back inside.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU DO! TRY ME, YOU PIECE OF-"

Before their eyes, a blond man by the name of Lawrence, stood there holding a teenage boy by his hands. Although he was outmatched, the boy never ceased struggling against the iron grip of the blond man.

Examining the boy's appearance, he was on the tall side. His hair had two tones, one being a lighter shade of blond while the lower half looked like it was shaved off. An unusually long face, the boy wore a vicious scowl on his face.

"What's his name?" Sarah inquired with a calm look on her face.

"Apparently his name is Jean Kirschtein. You better watch this kid, he likes to put up a lot trouble. Set him to work and do whatever you like. I don't give a shit as long as I get paid."

Hank solemnly nodded before dragging Jean to the outside. Eren and Mikasa were back outside in the nick of time hastily doing chores when Hank arrived holding the boy. "Here. Teach him how to mow the lawn and paint the shed. And make sure he does it right. We're paying Lawrence big bucks so this kid can help clean everything up."

"FUCK YOU!" Jean landed a solid kick in Hank's crotch area. Hank bristled, but didn't hit him much to everyone's surprise. He merely walked back in the house leaving the three teens to their own devices.

Mikasa and Eren silently walked over to where Jean was sitting. "Hey man, what's up?" Eren reached out his hand and helped Jean up. Jean eagerly brushed the dirt off his pants and looked at both of them. "So who the hell are you two?"

Mikasa stared at him with an irritated look, she didn't like him already. Eren paid no mind and ignored her hostility towards Jean. "I'm Eren. This is my adopted sister, Mikasa. We live in foster care."

Jean peered a look at Mikasa and his eyes opened wide, his face blushing. "You're...beautiful..."

"Thanks." Mikasa's curt response immediately shot Jean down causing the young man to stare at the ground.

Internally, Eren felt relieved. Mikasa was old enough to look after herself and very skilled in street fighting. That didn't change the fact he felt the usual brotherly protection over her. Plus, Jean's attitude pissed him off already. 'He looks like a horse.' Eren mused before venturing to ask more questions.

"Tch. I'm here because that bastard Lawrence treats me as his little servant boy. I have to go house to house and do HIS dirty work! Fucking unbelievable.."

"Then why don't you do something about it then."

"Eren don't-"

Eren ignored Mikasa as Jean continued. This time, he lowered his head in shame and muttered, "He can beat the shit out of me if I piss him off. I don't want burn marks on my arms again..."

The three of them continued doing chores in the yard nonstop. Mikasa and Eren worked in perfect synchronization while Jean cursed at everything around him. The siblings ignored him, they both equally found him to be a big cry baby. A rustling in the bushes caused Jean to look up with fear in his eyes.

"The f-" Eren covered his mouth before he could continue. While Eren wrestled Jean into being quiet, Mikasa gingerly lifted the plants and let Armin sneak by.

"Oh. Interesting development we have here." Armin analyzed Jean's every move, calculations passing through his piercing blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Jean asked stupidly.

"I'm Armin Arlert. I live next door to Eren and Mikasa."

"Names Jean and I work at a bunch of houses because of some bastard named Lawrence. The hell you doing sneaking through a bush?"

"Jean.." Mikasa stared at him in warning while Eren asked Armin several questions.

"Can someone tell me what's going on here?" Jean stomped his foot in irritation.

Eren and Armin seemed to be in deep conversation, whispering urgently about something. Mikasa wouldn't let Jean any further but he had sharp ears and could hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

Armin calmly walked over to Jean and analyzed him once more. Such staring was freaking Jean out but for once he didn't say anything, he merely scowled. "Jean, can I trust you? No, can we trust you as a whole?

"What? Uhh of course you can!"

"You must promise to work in cooperation with us, and not betray us under any circumstances."

"Uh sure."

Armin spoke in a low voice as the four of them crouched in a close circle. "Eren and I have been formulating an escape plan for the past few months. We've been needing a fourth person. However, this plan has a 50% of failure and quite deadly for anyone involved. One of us may end up being hurt or worse. We need to analyze the life or death risk we are taking here."

Blood pounded in Jean's ears, excitement flowing throughout his whole body. A chance to escape! He nodded in agreement, a little too eager to start the plan. Everyone crouched even closer as Armin whispered his instructions. "The plan begins at 8 pm. Good luck. And please...be safe." He crawled through the bushes swiftly like a cat. By the time Hank reappeared, he knew nothing of what just occurred as he watched the three teens obediently do their work.

 

* * *

8 p.m.

* * *

 

"AHH! UNF! ARRGGGHHH!!!!" Eren couldn't help screaming as Hank swung a chair at him.

"You stupid...piece of..." Hank seemed out of breath when he stalked out of the kitchen. He joined Sarah in the other room to rest for the night. Mikasa quietly joined Eren in the kitchen, leading him outside. The two teens stood in the backyard, excitement ebbing in their bodies. Not only excitement, but fear as well. Jean stood on the front lawn with a rock in his hand.

_**CRASH! BANG!** _

"HOLY FUCK! WHAT THE HELL!?"

"STOP CURSING AND LOOK AT THE DAMN WINDOW, HANK!!"

"JESUS CHRIST I'M GETTING OUT THE BED! CALM DOWN YOU CRAZY WOMAN!"

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME A CRAZY WOMAN!"

Mikasa and Eren could hear the sounds of Hank and Sarah desperately run around looking for the culprit who threw the rock at the window. They both nodded and immediately ran into the kitchen and got to the floor scrubbing the furniture.

A disheveled Hank flew into the scene and saw the two of them cleaning the floor. "DID YOU TWO HEAR THAT SHIT!? At least it's not you two little fuckers who did that. There's a crashing noise and we're trying to find out who broke one of the god damn windows. I need you guys to come with me and-"

"HHHHHHAAANNNKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Hank ran off before he could finish his sentence leaving Eren and Mikasa alone in the kitchen. They nodded and set up mouse traps throughout the area. Mikasa gave him a fierce hug as they both split up.

Jean continue running around the house flinging projectile rocks at every window he could find. He had to be careful, he risked the fear of being caught. A fierce hand on Jean's shoulder scared him. A breath of relief as it was only Armin, who held a garden hose with him.

Mikasa decided to meet up with Sarah. Sarah wasn't as physically strong as Hank, but she was a lot sharper instinct wise. As Mikasa calmly entered the room, she kept a cool face at the tossed over furniture. Sarah was standing at a shattered window trying to piece back broken picture frames.

"THERE YOU ARE! DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME WITH THIS SHIT!"

Without words, Mikasa immediately bent down and helped Sarah with the pieces. Hank entered the door way with Eren, both of them covered in sweat from running around. Jean continued to wreak havoc outside, the crashing noises caused by him happening without end.

The minute Sarah turned around to look at Hank, Mikasa picked up a heavy vase.  _ **THWACK!**_ Sarah fell to the floor momentarily unconscious. Hank didn't even curse, his fierce anger controlling his actions as he flew at Mikasa and attacked her.

Eren picked up the glass pieces from the ground and jumped onto Hank trying to strangle him.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"

Eren ignored his curses until the brute man grabbed Eren by the arm and threw him to the ground. Before he could kick Eren in the face, Mikasa jumped in the air and kicked Hank in the back of his knee caps. The man fell to the ground cursing and carrying on. Both teens grabbed each other's hands and ran out of the room fleeing the proximity.

They met Jean and Armin who were at the bottom of the stairwell.

"We gotta hurry! We heard neighbors calling the cops!" Jean's voice full of fear as the four of them ran out of the house onto the front lawn.

"Oh no you don't."

Whirling around, Sarah stood there in the driveway getting into the car. "MY HUSBAND MAY BE AN IDIOT, BUT I'M NOT! IT'S TIME I RUN YOU OVER!"

"HOLY SHIT, SHE'S A BITCH ON WHEELS!" Jean bellowed as he took off running. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin followed soon after. They seemed to be making progress when Mikasa noticed Armin lagging behind.

"You'll never make it with me!" Armin instructed her to go on, but she resisted. Finally, Eren grabbed Armin and gave him a piggy back ride. The running continued at full blast as Sarah chased them.

"YOU LITTLE FUCKERS, JUST YOU WAIT! WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU I'll-"

Mikasa found an object on the ground and thanks to her accurate aim, flung it at the car. Her aim worked as the front car window started to crack and shatter.

"FUCK! YOU SHI-" Sarah's cursing was cut off by the swerving of the car. She slammed into a pole at the corner of the street. Momentarily relieved but too scared to stop, they kept running.

Sarah smashed open the window and crawled out. "Now it ends..." She began to chase them on foot with a gun in her hand.

The four teens were standing at the fence, cornered with nowhere else to go. Sarah etched closer to them with a maniacal smile on her face. "I'm done playing games..." The woman held the gun getting ready to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, a huge van swerved by splashing water all over Sarah from a nearby puddle. A tall built figure attacked Sarah and punched her square in the face using a brick. This time, the woman fell to the ground unconscious. Wiping sweat off his face, the blond guy turned around and walked over in their general direction.

More and more figures came out of the van and walked towards them.

"We're fucked..." Jean breathed as he looked at the newcomers in fear. A gang was the last thing they needed.

A girl with freckles approached them, tall and slender, she looked intimidating with the scowl and tattoos on her arms. "Calm down, we're not here to harm you. You should thank us for saving your asses. Hey, you look like a horse."

Stress came over, and Eren laughed uncontrollably at her comment towards Jean. Jean looked pissed off but was still too scared to do anything.

The girl gave a sharp smile and reached out her hand to shake Eren's hand. "My name's Ymir. And this is our gang, the 104th Squad."

The tall guy who knocked out Sarah walked over with a smile on his face. He looked downright intimidating with his bulging muscles but he remained a friendly demeanor. "I'm Reiner. Crazy bitch was about to pull the trigger on you guys." He laughed a deep laugh that echoed down the alleyway.

The other people introduced themselves as Connie, Sasha, Bertholdt, Krista (her real name Historia), Annie, Thomas, Mina, and Marco. Ymir looked around and sighed. "Come on, get in the van. We'll be caught for sure if we keep standing here."

Jean looked like he was about to protest, but Armin grabbed his arm and dragged him to the van following Eren and Mikasa.

Situated in the van, Bertholdt sat at the driver's seat and drove away at breakneck speed.

"Where are we going?" Armin politely asked Ymir.

Ymir responded in a simple sentence. "Our hideout."

"Why did you help us?" Eren ventured to ask.

"Because we saw the shit you four were pulling off and we felt like joining in. Plus, we hate Hank and Sarah too. Those two bastards walk around thinking they're hot shots. You four gave us the perfect chance to get our revenge." Ymir laughed harshly.

"What did they do?"

Ymir frowned darkly. "They took over our previous hideout about a year ago. We had to fight other gangs for months until we found a new one, miles away from here."

"Wait! I was with Hank when he goes on errands." Eren realized.

Ymir nodded sagely. "I know. I know you're Armin, Eren and Mikasa. I don't know who you are."

"Jean."

"Why didn't you help us earlier?" Mikasa stared at Ymir darkly.

The freckled girl shook her head. "We can't just go barging in the neighborhood. Look at us, we would be caught in an instant. We waited for you guys to make your move. However, Armin here discussed with me his grand scheme for months."

Everyone looked at Armin with great respect, silently thanking him for his cleverness.

"Alright, enough small talk. I have a proposition that you four join our gang. All you need to do is swear your loyalty to us. We work together for survival, that's it. We don't go around doing drug wars and shooting up places like the other jackasses. We're a family trying to help each other. What do you say?"

It seems they had no choice, really. Mikasa, Armin, and Jean nodded. Eren took Ymir's hand and shook it. "We say yes."

Ymir nodded and turned to put her arm around Krista. Everyone sat in silence as Bertholdt continued driving to their new hideout. From then on, everyone's lives would be changed forever.

"We finally escaped that hell hole." Mikasa whispered before laying her head on Eren's shoulder. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Eren looked out the window in deep thought with triumph in his heart.

After all those years, they finally did it.

 


	2. Welcome to the Concrete Jungle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren learns how to cooperate with others, the hard way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's pray this chapter actually sounds coherent.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?" Eren ran over and pushed Jean off his bed.

"THE FUCK, MAN!?" Jean was asleep and he immediately jumped up. "THE FUCK'S YOUR PROBLEM!?"

"MY GODDAM PROBLEM IS THAT YOU LEAVE YOUR DIRTY ASS LAUNDRY LAYING AROUND!"

"FUCK OFF, I WAS TAKING A NAP!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME, YOUR SORRY ASS WOULDN'T BE HERE!"

Jean and Eren stood there staring at each other with utter hate in their eyes.

"Nasty ass horse face.."

"Suicidal bastard.."

Jean punched Eren in the face before Eren could respond. However, Eren was a lot faster as he kicked Jean in the stomach. The two of them were at it as they continued to punch and kick each other. Eren managed to land some nice solid blows to Jean's face, the two toned man earning a black eye. Eren didn't escape unscathed, his nose bled profusely and his head was spinning. Eren preferred to be angry than any other emotion. It kept him alive and strong. Aside from himself, nothing else mattered except for Mikasa and Armin.

Connie ran over and started laughing uncontrollably. "GET OVER HERE GUYS! THEY'RE BEATING THE ABSOLUTE SHIT OUT OF EACH OTHER!"

Reiner stood against the door with his arms crossed and gave a tired yawn. "They're ALWAYS beating the shit out of each other. Nothing new except that I can't hear myself think."

"Aren't you going to stop them?"

"Nah, let them pass out from fighting. It's not my problem. Though they better get it over with before Ymir finds out."

By now, both teens were on the floor unable to get up. Jean was laying on his back continuously kicking Eren in the face while Eren responded by ripping out pieces of Jean's hair. Every time one tried to stand up, the other would drive him to the ground. During the first few nights, everyone thought the situation was comical, some even made bets. It got old real quick, and Ymir decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Reiner, break them apart. You too, Connie." Ymir's irritated voice caused immediate action. "Both of you are switching partners. Eren, you're moving in with Connie. Jean you keep the room, but you're getting Marco instead."

"WHAT THE FUCK-"

"HELL NO!"

"I DON'T GIVE A FLYING SHIT!" Ymir glared at both of them before leaving, nothing else could be said or done.

Connie gave Eren one scared look and whispered into Reiner's ear. "He's a fucking maniac! I don't want to live with him!"

"You'll be fine." Reiner shoved Connie into the room, his laughter could be heard throughout the entire hideout. "Have fun!"

"What are you looking at?" Jean and Eren glared at Connie. "HEY! Stop copying me, you bastard!"

Connie groaned before grabbing Eren by the arm. "Come on man, let it go."

Eren snatched his arm away. "Don't touch me, avatar."

"Avatar!? That's a good one!" Jean burst out laughing as Connie protested against the name.

"Jean. You're way too loud." A new voice entered the room and everyone turned to see Marco standing there, a frown on his lips.

"So what? I do what I want!" His voice defiant as always, except it sounded shaky.

"Sure, you do."

Connie and Eren stared in confusion. They couldn't understand why Jean disliked Marco so much. Everyone else liked Marco, he was kind and patient. Jean remained on edge whenever Marco came near him. Eren just settled that Jean was an idiot whereas Connie thought Marco punched Jean when no one looked. No one ever said Connie was the sharpest tool in the shed.

"It's fine, I can take it from here." Marco smiled serenely despite the possessive look in his eyes.

Jean gulped, backing away from Marco. He placed his arms around Eren and Connie. "Yep! Have fun, Marco! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Let's go drink some beer guys!" He nervously shoved Eren an Connie out of the room with him.

"Ow! What the fuck, man!?" Connie sputtered in confusion. "Why does Marco always have you on edge? He's a nice guy!"

"Shut up!"

Eren smirked and enjoyed Jean in his current state of fear. "What, did he kiss you or something?"

That did it, Jean's face lit up bright red and he turned away, too stunned to retort.

"Ha! I knew it! JEAN LIKES MARCO! HE IS HELLA GAY!"

"SHUT UP, CONNIE!" Jean clamped his nervous sweaty palms against Connie's mouth.

The door slammed open and Marco stood there shirtless, his left arm bearing an intricate black and red tattoo design. "Guys, please stop shouting. I'm trying to sleep." His gentle voice masking the menacing look in his eyes. Turning to Jean, Marco grabbed him from behind causing the tawny haired man to scream. "And it's time for you especially to settle down."

"HELL NO! HELL NO! HELL TO THE NO!" Jean's shouts were ignored as Marco pushed him into the room before gently closing the door. Connie and Eren shuddered as they heard the door lock. Jean's shouting suddenly stopped and was replaced by weird smacking and gasping noises.

"Oh man that's fucking sick. Ew they are so gay. So help me God." Connie's face in perfect disgust before walking off.

Eren stood there for a minute listening to the weird noises before deciding to leave himself. 'Connie's right. They are so gay.' Eren shuddered hoping he would never end up in Jean's place.

During the day time, everyone did their own thing. Some hung out at the hideout, others slept the day away. Ymir didn't care if people stayed or walked around in the nearby city. The only stigma she held was that anyone who left needed to be armed and have their cell phone on them at all times. Everyone wore a special tattoo on their left arm, a beautiful design done by Ymir's girlfriend. She was a gifted tattoo artist before being forced to leave her job, everyone appreciated her angelic presence. Anyway, the tattoo was red and black. It resembled black sakura tree branches with red flowers aligning them. A magnificent job none the less, everyone had them now. Everyone except Jean that is, he was due to get his tonight.

Eren noticed that Annie and Mikasa were outside sparring against each other. Unlike Eren and Jean, they were mature and held a deep respect for each other. They seemed evenly matched despite Annie's short stature. Usually, Eren stuck around to watch them and made bets with Connie and Sasha on who would win. Eren felt different today and he decided to visit the nearby city instead. He would ask Armin to accompany him, but Armin seemed occupied these days. If he wasn't studying incessantly, he was working out. Armin decided he was tired of being physically weak and since day one, he worked out every single day, twice a day. The guy always had dedication and he was already starting to show favorable results.

"Where are you going?"

Eren jumped and saw Bertholdt leaning against the counter, a watchful look on his face. Bertholdt always creeped him out with his height and silent demeanor. Especially his seemingly unblinking eyes as he analyzed everything. If everyone could have a super power, Bertholdt would definitely be a mind reader.

"I'm just going to the city. Something to do."

"Oh?"

"Uhh yea..." Eren started to feel uncomfortable from the way Bertholdt was staring at him.

"Well have a fun time. I warn you, watch your back." The tall man suddenly grabbed Eren by the shoulders and got in his face. "Be careful of every move you make. You never know who's watching."

Eren pushed Bertholdt away and started for the door. "Yea yea I get it." He slammed the door behind him and took off running in an attempt to escape Bertholdt's line of sight. "Seriously, he is one creepy son of a bitch. At least I'm not rooming with him of all people."

The nearby city was always full of excitement, there were people everywhere. Eren looked at all the sky scrapers as he browsed the windows in the shops. He always had to be careful to not got hit by the traffic on the street. He had a bad tendency to daydream while walking. The last thing he wanted was to get hit by a taxi and attract attention. Attracting attention always meant danger for the gang, and Eren avoided making eye contact with the strangers he passed.

Eren entered a Starbucks and sat in the window seat watching everyone else. He didn't always order something, but he always liked it there. The atmosphere just seemed right as he listened to the soothing music and human activity around him. The smells were the best as everyone walked around with their flavored coffees and lattes. He could stay for hours and not worry about being kicked out. The place reminded him of Panera since people could lounge around with their laptops and not worry about being kicked out.

Deciding to get a drink, Eren stood up and started walking to towards the counter.

"What the hell?" A man made a snarled voice in Eren's direction. Eren realized he didn't pay attention where he was going and accidentally bumped into a short man holding a cappuccino. "Well? You either going to stand there or help me out here?"

Eren contemplated walking away fast, his bad judgement made him noticed. Worse, the man was obviously intelligent and anyone recognizing his physical appearance meant trouble. Knowing he was taking an asshole move, Eren decided to leave immediately without helping the man. 

As he walked away, he felt a strong grip on his arm. "Don't walk away you asshole. You bump into me and spill my drink. You can at least have some decency to apologize like a proper human being."

Sweat started to drip down Eren's neck as he panicked. "Sorry." He muttered quietly hoping the man couldn't recognize his voice.

"Tch. Typical, everyone's full of shit in this city." The man gruffly reached out his hand. "I'm Levi. State your name."

Eren stared incredulous. True, he was rude as hell for bumping into him, but the man insults him and then tells him what to do! Angry flared up but Eren fought to keep it under control. 'Don't make a scene. Don't make a scene.' His racing thoughts did not help the situation at all.

"What? Are you mute or something? Or maybe you're just dumb." Levi sneered before crossing his arms.

Eren couldn't understand why Levi felt like taunting him. 'He must have a Napoleon Complex.' Eren reasoned, this odd fact making him feel better. Giving Levi a full look, Eren took time to memorize his appearance.

Levi stood at about 5 ft 2, with short black hair and a permanent scowl on his face. His voice also sounded hissy like a cat, thought it was definitely the voice of a man. Eren's first impression was that Levi was both intimidating and ugly. 'Sucks to suck.' Eren didn't realize the stupid smirk on his face.

"You useless-"

"Stop insulting me." Eren was surprised at how firm and clear his voice sounded. Panic rose when he realized Levi heard his voice loud and clear.

Instead of retorting, Levi stared at Eren with a look of calm surprise. "Well, at least you speak." His shitty way of sounding nice. Seeing Levi look less....aggressive made Eren reconsider his first impression of the shorter man. Yes, Levi was short, but Eren noticed the man worked out. His arms a nice tone and his short black hair very smooth and silky. His delicate face matched his sweet lips and dark chocolate eyes. His voice wasn't too bad either, it was deep in a pleasant way, and could soothe him to sleep. Eren shook his head, he did not like his sudden change in his train of thought.

"Are you okay? I don't need you freaking out on me, you psychopath. Now are you going to tell me your name or do I have to make you spit it out?"

'Just make up a name.' Eren's thoughts finally fell together nicely as he looked at Levi dead on. "I'm Carl."

Levi tilted his head to the side and then pouted. "I can tell you're lying you son of a-"

Without thinking, Eren jolted and stormed out of Starbucks. He was too panicked to realize other people were watching him. Eren didn't care, he had to get as far away from Levi as possible. 'What the hell is wrong with you?' Eren couldn't decide what scared him more about Levi. It was either the fact he was recognized or the disturbing trail his thoughts were drifting towards.

Arriving at the hideout Eren avoided everyone else even Jean. He ate quickly and eluded the concerned questions from Mikasa and Armin. Jean seemed tired and shaky too. He walked around like a drunken man with a tired look on his face. Eren walked passed him without making a single crude remark about the hickeys on his neck.

Eren stayed in his room for the rest of the night keeping to himself. He didn't care about what Connie did as long as he left him alone. Eren spent a lot of time laying on his bed staring at the ceiling in deep thought.

'I hope I never see him again.' He thought as he fell into an uneasy sleep, ignoring the make out scene between Connie and Sasha on the opposite side of the room. 


	3. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren resolves to avoid Levi at all costs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just updated the chapter with more storyline. I originally posted the unfinished version of the chapter because the campus wifi is terrible and my laptop was dying. Regardless, what you're currently reading is the complete finished version of Chapter 3.
> 
> Thank you.

Eren's frantic personality started to affect everyone else greatly in the weeks following his unfortunate encounter with Levi. No one else knew why Eren was acting so skittish constantly. He resolved in only telling Mikasa and Armin what happened between him and Levi. Luckily, his two best confidants were loyal to the end; they respected Eren's wishes in not telling anyone. Ymir confronted Eren one day but soon gave up when she realized that Eren wouldn't say anything to her. Every time Jean made a remark towards him, Eren would retort with a crude remark regarding Marco. This proved very effective, Jean would become completely silent or stomp off upset.

Actually, Eren wasn't the only one everyone worried about in the gang. Jean himself became quite reticent despite his usual ugly scowl. He still remained blunt with other people, but he didn't seem as aggressive as he used to be. Waves of anxiety surrounded Jean constantly making even Bertholdt feel uncomfortable around him. Marco was the only one who willingly spent time with Jean. His possessiveness quickly letting everyone else know that Jean was his and his only.

Ymir resolved in summoning a meeting for everyone around 4 p.m. as she scrutinized every person in the room with equal irritation. Her goddess like girlfriend, Krista, sat beside her with a solemn look on her face.

"Alright you ninnies, it's time for our first mission since the newbies joined the gang. The objectives are simple and clear: follow my command, be quick, and get out. Lately, a rival gang led by Marlo and Hitch have been infiltrating our territory. Worse, they're stealing our money and shit. Money we need to survive. Those bastards are always getting high, I don't understand why they need to bother US. Anyway, we're sneaking into enemy territory to get what's rightfully ours. Have your guns with you at all times and for the love of God; don't get your sorry asses killed!"

"What I don't understand is why the hell they need our shit anyway. We don't do drug deals anymore so it's not like we owe them anything." Reiner's irritated voice interrupted the tense silence.

"You guys used to do drug deals?" Jean's urgent whispers silenced by Marco's shushing.

"Wait, if horse face wants to know, we should tell him. The newbies have the right to know." Connie's suggestion sounded wise for once and Eren noticed everyone look in Krista's direction.

Krista shifted in her seat feeling uncomfortable and looking thoroughly upset.

"Well we're not talking about it!" Ymir's voice became even more irritated and protective over her girlfriend.

"No...they have a right to know.." Krista sighed and brushed her hair away from her petite face. "Before I met Ymir, I was a popular cheerleader at my school. I had decent grades, plenty of friends..." Krista's eyes became clouded from the painful memories of her former, better life.

She shook her head and continued. "My parents were wealthy and educated. We lived in a nice big house with a pool and everything. What nobody knew was that my parents were never married. I was a mistake; they never planned on having a daughter on the night they were young and reckless. I'm a bastard child, my father cheated on his fiancee with my mother. There was always tension; we were great at giving off the image of a perfect family. But my father was a woman beater and my parents argued constantly. I recall nights of being unable to sleep because I would hear screaming all the time before the sound of something being broken. I dealt with the pain by reverting to drugs at my prep school; us rich kids had enough money so why not?"

Krista went to continue but the pain so evident in her eyes made Ymir intervene. "Then shit happened and she met me. We used to do drug deals but we got in risky business and we lost valuable lives over wanting to get high all the time. So we don't do that anymore. In fact, Krista's been clean for about a year." She smiled warmly and hugged Krista close to her.

Eren and Mikasa squeezed each other's hands; they had no clue that sweet smiling Krista lived such a painful life. Armin looked surprised but he hid it well when he smiled in her direction. "Well, I have a lot of respect for not only Krista, but for the fact that we don't do drug deals anymore."

"Well we're getting off topic. So let's get going; I don't feel like dealing with those assholes all night." Ymir grunted and left first signaling for everyone else to follow suit.

Bertholdt quickly drove to a certain spot in the back of a parking lot designating the meet up spot for the gang. Everyone swiftly got out and split into pairs of two or three.

"They can't be too far away..." Sasha muttered, her natural instincts great help in tracking down people. Connie flanked beside her protectively with a jittery look on his face.

The enemy hideout was tracked down and Annie provided distraction as she ran around attacking random people. Everyone else ran inside the broken apartment following Sasha and Ymir. They soon found their stolen valuables, including money, and made haste to return to the car.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Hitch stood at the top of the stairwell, her shrill voice echoed throughout the entire building. Before anyone had chance to respond, she whipped out her guns and started firing like a deranged lunatic.

Ymir fired back with equal brutality as everyone besides Krista ran to safety with the precious goods. Marlo appeared, armed with explosives and began to throw them in their general direction. Thanks to Armin's quick thinking, he attacked Marlo before he could even activate the explosives. Reiner worked in conjunction, he fought off ten people with Bertholdt, and responded by pushing Marlo out of the third story window.

"WE'RE IN THE CITY WITH A SHITLOAD OF PEOPLE! SPLIT UP ON YOUR WAY BACK TO THE MEET UP SPOT!" Ymir frantically screamed as everyone, somewhat safely, left the building.

Eren took off running in his direction ignoring the shouts from Mikasa and Armin. Fear took over as the brunette jumped over fences without a care in the world for any pedestrians that got in his way. Eren felt someone kick him in the stomach which sent him flying through the air. Unexceptionally good at hand to hand combat, Eren was prepared to fight off the five attackers. Exhaustion didn't work in his favor, he started to struggle fighting them off until he surely felt he was on the brink of death.

A new figure took view and Eren noticed the enemies getting knocked down one by one. He wondered who his savior was when a man stepped into the street light revealing to be Levi himself.

"Well..that was absolutely filthy." Levi sneered in disgust as he rubbed the dirt and blood off his knuckles. "I'm not surprised that you of all people tend to get into trouble constantly with others."

Relief quickly turned to fear as Eren nervously backed away from Levi into the brick wall. "Why the h-hell did you help me?"

"You should be thanking me for saving your sorry ass. Would you rather be found dead in some alleyway?" Levi refused to admit why he helped Eren.

Eren wouldn't let up when anger surged from his stomach. "But it was none of your damn business! Why would you help me!? When we met, you insulted me! You don't even like me! If you were smart, you should've just let me there to die-"

_**SMASH.** _

For such a small man, Levi had strength equal to that of Reiner as Eren felt himself slam into the wall. Before he could get up, he felt Levi grab him by the collar. "You're an ungrateful little shit. Most people would be happy to be alive. Do you have a death wish? You filthy piece of-"

Levi was scary looking when Eren first met him, but seeing his face up close Eren realized that Levi can be downright terrifying. Eren closed his eyes expecting Levi to beat the living shit out of him. He felt like he deserved it but Eren noticed Levi let go of his shirt and look away.

"I..I don't know why I helped you. You're right...it wouldn't matter to me what the hell happened to you. But when I saw you.." Levi struggled to find the proper words before he turned to look at Eren dead on.

Eren hated when Levi did this, it made him feel inferior despite his obvious advantage in height.

"For some reason, I just can't keep my distance when you're involved." An unusual caring look entered Levi's eyes making Eren feel warm inside. The warm feeling soon turned to ice when Eren became painfully aware of his strange feelings.

Eren always preferred to look angry above anything else, but instead he stood there blushing.

"You're blushing..." Levi stepped closer towards him with a look of cautious interest.

"N-no. Get the hell away from me..." Eren glared in defiance.

Before Levi could step closer, two more people appeared.

"What the hell? Who the hell is this!?" Mikasa glared in Levi's direction. "He's my brother, you get away from him right now!"

Connie stood dumbfounded by the scene before him. "What the fuck..." he unhelpfully muttered.

Levi glared looking ready to fist fight Mikasa.

"No! STOP!" Eren's voice caused a brief pause and used this to his advantage. He grabbed Mikasa and Connie by the arms and ran until they reached the car.

Everyone else was there panting from exhaustion with an even more bedraggled look to them. Ymir's momentary look of relief quickly turned to anger.

"We were about to leave without you! You took too-"

Mikasa stood in front of Eren; unafraid to take on Ymir. "Leave him alone. He's had a hard day."

"We've all had a hard day, Mikasa." Ymir sneeered in disgust before stomping back into the car. "Let's just get the hell out of here."

The drive remained to be long and awkward, Eren numbly stared out the window wishing he could just forget all about Levi.

 

* * *

Levi

* * *

 

Levi stood there and shook his head with utter disgust at his situation with the mysterious man known as 'Carl.' He couldn't understand what the hell was going on with between him and the strange man. It became blatantly obvious that the man worked in shady business, it would make sense why he always acted skittish like he wasn't supposed to be seen or recognized by anyone. His suspicions only confirmed when he was walking home from a long day at work and saw the mysterious man trying to fight off five assaulters in the alleyway.

His job was rigorous and quite tiring emotionally and physically as a counselor at Trost High School; an inner city charter school dedicated to helping troubled teens turn their lives around. The term counselor didn't seem to apply anymore, Levi spent more time having to break up fights than actually educating the teens on how to make a positive difference in their lives. Despite his constant complaining to his coworkers Hanji, Mike, Auruo, Petra, Eld, and Gunther, Levi actually liked his job. It kept him alive on an emotional and spiritual level. Sure the paper work was a pain in the ass, but the troubled lives of the students reminded him of his former life as a criminal before Erwin rescued him.

As a teen, Levi used to do criminal work on the streets with Isabel and Farlan before they were caught by the authorities and turned in. Levi hated Erwin for interfering with his life but when he soon learned the truth behind his actions; Levi owed the man his eternal gratitude. Great sorrow reigned on Levi's shoulders as he decided to visit Isabel and Farlan next weekend at the graveyard like he usually did. If only they were as fortunate as he was.

Kneeling down, Levi examined the bodies of the unconscious people around him. He noticed they were affiliated with a local gang and made quick to call the police. He would've made an excellent officer, but Levi disliked dirty work. He eyed the troubled youth with disdain after he phoned the local police. After the police arrived on scene, Levi made haste to leave the the situation before him. No way in hell did he want to be involved.

Walking up the stairs into his condo, Levi's thoughts returned to 'Carl.' Levi chuckled to himself and decided to refer to the young man as Carl if that's what he wanted. They both knew very well that wasn't his name. It didn't even fit his appearance, the name far too goofy and unbecoming of his appearance. Levi rubbed the back of his neck silently wishing he was a little kinder the day he accidentally bumped into 'Carl.' Maybe then, the young man would've revealed his true identity. Or..maybe not.

Levi surmised that 'Carl' was in some sort of gang affiliation, unsurprising from his nervous demeanor. He didn't understand his feelings towards Carl. Levi never felt warm feelings around anyone, even Isabel and Farlan. True he held respect for his superiors such as Erwin his boss, but he preferred to keep human emotional needs at a minimum towards those around him. He preferred solitude over corny business parties and useless social situations.

Carl was right about one thing, it wasn't Levi's business to keep meddling in his life. Carl was smart enough to know that getting involved with him only meant more aggravation and stress on Levi's end. Levi knew this all too well, and he still couldn't understand why a mere stranger, an extremely rude stranger, mattered to him so much.

Laying in bed after his usual tea ritual, Levi stared at the ceiling going over Carl's physical appearance. Not unusual the man was taller than him at a height of about 5 ft 7. What struck Levi was his smooth tan caramel like skin along with his silky chocolate brown hair. Levi liked his eyes the most, one couldn't tell if they were blue or green. The eyes were beautiful nonetheless and delightfully mysterious. He also remembered that Carl's right eye more green than his left eye. Of course Carl always looked angry and had a tendency to pick fights.

'Don't get involved, just because he's good looking doesn't mean he isn't a shitty brat. You saw him fighting off people in an alleyway, he likes to get his sorry ass in trouble.' Levi's thoughts clashed when he regretfully fell asleep knowing that he and Carl would meet each other again on several occasions. Levi would make sure of that.

 

* * *

Eren

* * *

 

Two weeks have passed since the shoot up at the rival gang's house. Everyone escaped with few injuries though Bertholdt was forced into mandatory rest. Reiner worried about him constantly. He usually looked sarcastic and cheerful; his demeanor changed to protectiveness in an almost mother like state. Reiner wouldn't let Bertholdt near anyone.

Eren sat at the "kitchen table" and numbly ate some cereal. It occurred to him that the gang known as 104th squad was very LGBT friendly. Eren didn't have a problem with lgbt people as long as they didn't force their views on him. He definitely didn't want any guys hitting on him. The thought of guys hitting on him quickly turned into thoughts about Levi.

He felt traumatized by Levi and the small man began to haunt his dreams. By day, Eren was constantly worried about Levi turning the gang in. By night, Eren was tortured by unusual sensual dreams of Levi. The dreams disturbed him the most, Eren was brutally sure that he was straight and not homosexual at all. However, he could no longer deny the warm feelings he felt in his dreams when dream Levi would gently caress his chest.

'I need to get out. No point moping around constantly everyday and worrying Mikasa and Armin.' Eren ran upstairs and quickly got dressed.

"Hey, where ya goin.." Connie laid in bed half awake before lazily turning over and falling back to sleep.

Walking through the city, Eren eyed the homeless people sleeping along the stores with pity. He then sat at Starbucks in the back where he was sure no one would notice him. Right on cue, Levi entered the store talking to a tall blond man. The man was indeed too attractive for his own good, Eren thought the man resembled Captain America. Ducking behind a group of people, Eren listened to their conversation.

"Levi, you can't keep getting involved with unruly kids fighting in some alleyway."

"I can't help it, Erwin. You should've seen the way he fought. The kid's got spunk."

"You have to remember that our job cannot reach outside of school boundaries. Since when did you care about other people?" The man known as Erwin gave Levi a devilishly sexy smile making Eren's insides squirm.

"Shut the hell up, eyebrows. He reminded me of myself I guess.."

"Ah yes, your delinquent days. You kicked me in the face and demanded I give you all the money I had." Erwin chuckled uncaring of the murderous look on Levi's face.

"Don't remind me, I'm embarrassed by the way I used to be." Levi sighed and looked down at his own cup. "I just...hope that whatever may happen, he'll be okay."

Erwin nodded sagely and then elbowed Levi. "Carl sounds like such a stupid name though. The kid must be a terrible liar."

Eren snook off and ran away from the store with his ears burning. He couldn't comprehend why Levi was so interested in him. This Erwin who knew him for so long seemed surprised by the fact. Eren sighed and realized that Carl really is a stupid name to use as an alias. He pondered if he should keep on spying on them; better judgement ruling that espionage would be entirely too risky. Eren surmised that they were involved with authorities or some sort of police force since he recalled Erwin turning in Levi as a former delinquent.

Deciding to head to the local park, Eren sat down clumsily near the pond and watched the families sitting around him. He sighed wishing that he lived a better life with Mikasa and Armin. Eren paused and reflected that everyone in the gang deserved a better life, even Jean despite him being a complete jackass. 'Well, he has Marco. And that's not entirely a bad thing..' Eren found himself smiling as he thought of every time Marco made Jean act all jittery. The sun and blue sky really knew how to relax people as Eren felt himself drift into a deep sleep.

 

* * *

 

"Hey. Are you going to wake up?"

Eren's eyes flew open and he saw Levi standing over him with his hands in his pockets. Eren jumped back and stupidly backed into a tree. "Ow! Fucking dammit..." Eren scowled and rubbed the back of head feeling embarrassed and scared at the same time.

Levi stared with amusement like he was watching a funny sitcom. "I'm not here to attack. I just want to talk. I won't ask your name or anything."

Eren pondered if he could really trust the guy; but decided to act compliant for once. After all, Levi was strong enough to throw him through the air into a brick wall a few weeks back. Even the memory was physically painful as Eren winced from the days he had to ice his back constantly.

"Walk with me." Levi started off already down a grey stone trail next to the pond. He automatically expected Eren to follow. "I assume you have questions, and I'm actually in a nice mood today."

Eren quickly got up and followed Levi until he caught up with him. "The weather's...nice.." he muttered feeling lame.

"You look exhausted." Levi eyed Eren suspiciously making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Well...yea...uh...I'm wondering why you helped me back there. T-thank you for saving my ass- er I mean.."

"I get it." Levi stared at the sky looking lost. "I know I sound like I'm full of shit, but I honestly don't know why I helped you either. Though, I admit I was a little too harsh when we first met. Don't get all smug, I still think you're a brat."

Eren nervously nodded and watched people go about doing their daily routine.

"You're...a really good fighter..."

"Tch. I used to live on the streets myself back when I was a shitty brat."

Eren turned and saw Levi show the same painful look Krista had when she revealed her past. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"It's nothing interesting. I basically had two allies and we just ran around starting shit for the sake of survival. And getting high of course. Though I'm pretty sure Farlan preferred drinking and Isabel preferred cocaine..oh sorry. You don't know who they are. They're...never mind. No point going over useless details."

Eren numbly walked beside Levi for a good hour. They were equally disturbed by how pleasant and safe they felt being around each other. It didn't help that they were connected on an almost spiritual level. This meant that they could spend time with each other for long periods of time without the need for useless chatter. Levi felt uncomfortable with the fact that the troubled young man was probably a minor. Eren on the other hand, felt increasingly disturbed by his slight homosexual feelings towards Levi.

After their long walk came to an end, Levi turned and gave Eren a rough handshake. "Well...yea. Maybe we'll..no that's pointless. See you." Levi walked off with an irritated look on his face.

Eren knew that even though the parting words were half assed and vague, Levi was simply bidding a fond farewell. He also knew that Levi hoped to see him again which he thought was extremely unusual not to mention disconcerting.

Arriving home for the night, Eren decided to join everyone else in watching TV. He kept to himself, his thoughts on Levi the entire night while the tv had everyone else interested. From the corner of his eye, he saw Marco put his arm around Jean. Jean squirmed at first, but awkwardly rested his head on Marco's chest. Eren's staring caused Jean to turn bright red and give him the finger.

He laughed from the sight causing everyone to look. Laughing was the best feeling in the world and once he started, he couldn't stop. Mikasa eyed Eren with concern whereas Armin was still in deep conversation with Annie.

"What a fucking lunatic." Ymir grumbled and smirked at Connie. "Sucks you have to sleep in the same room with him."

Connie made a face and whispered complaints into Sasha's ear referring to Ymir as a sadistic bitch.

"Why are you laughing?" Reiner finally left Bertholdt's side for the first time in what seemed like weeks.

"It's funny because Jean's so awkward around Marco."

"You crazy bastard-" Jean immediately stood up but Marco placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Jesus, Eren. Don't start unnecessary trouble." Reiner groaned before heading into the other room to make some popcorn.

No one noticed someone standing outside and out of sight spying on them.

Levi rubbed his chin and thought to himself. 'So his real name's Eren, huh. Eren suites him a lot more than Carl at least.' He shrugged and took off into the night back to his apartment. He had a lot of paper work to finish before tomorrow's school evaluation meeting after all.


	4. Learning When to Give Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You fight for what you believe in. You fight because maybe you're hoping to achieve something outside of your own miserable life. Or maybe, the reason you're fighting so hard is because you finally have a purpose. Having a purpose is one of the most potent feelings in the world because you feel validated as a human being.
> 
> All people ever really want is to feel validated."
> 
> \- Eren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't updated in a long time due to school work and financial issues. I don't really know anything about flying helicopters.  
> Well, here goes nothing!

_"I'm sorry to inform you, but your father passed away while you were at school."_

_The silence was almost maddening as young Eren dropped the phone from his hands. He couldn't think, breathe, function, all he felt was blind rage. Mikasa stood next to him, her face in silent shock as Eren stood there motionless._

_With sudden venom, Eren snatched the phone and started to scream. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! HE IS NOT DEAD! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! YOU'RE JUST A STUPID LIAR!"_

_Mikasa didn't attempt to grab the phone from Eren, she knew better as she let him have his way with the doctor on the other side of the conversation._

_"TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED! IF YOU'RE SUCH A HOTSHOT, TELL ME HOW HE DIED! NOW! NOW! NOW!"_

_The doctor's voice sounded shaken and incoherent, though Mikasa was sure she heard the words 'sudden heart attack from stress.'  She also knew that Eren had an uncontrollable anger problem since their mother died in the house fire. Acting responsibly, Mikasa took the phone from Eren's sweaty hands._

_"Hello? I'm Mikasa, Eren's older sister. I'm sorry for his behavior, he's just in a state of shock. May we go see him at the hospital? Yes? Thank you, goodbye." Mikasa hung up the phone calmly before twisting Eren's arm behind his back._

_"OW! WHAT THE HELL, MIKASA!?"_

_"You need to learn how to control your emotions, Eren. Don't you want to see him?"_

_"NO! He probably hates us! NO HE HATES ME! You're always so perfect, Mikasa!" Eren pouted his arms before throwing himself to the floor in tears._

_Mikasa wrapped young Eren in her warm embrace. "He doesn't hate you, Eren. He doesn't hate you. We'll be okay as long as we have each other. Understand?"_

_Eren nodded, his sobs echoing down the hallway. Mikasa gently took his hand as they walked in the direction of the hospital. Eren didn't notice the silent tears running down her face as Mikasa prayed to God that her words would come true._

 

* * *

 

"Yo! Eren! Eren! Are you okay!?"

Without thinking, Eren instinctively punched Connie in the nose. The bald teen fell backwards before cursing in irritation.

"What the hell, man!?"

Eren rubbed his eyes and realized that he was covered in sweat. Connie stood up and cautiously approached him again.

"Dude, you were crying in your sleep again. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I just need to eat something." Eren impatiently waved Connie away before heading downstairs. Connie shrugged and went his merry way to Sasha's room.

Chewing on his cereal, Eren sighed from his bad flashbacks. They were occurring with greater frequency since he joined the 104th Squad. He never told Mikasa and Armin since he didn't want to worry them. The trio seemed to communicate with telepathy as Mikasa and Armin understood what Eren was going through without any need to state the obvious.

Mikasa sat down across the table from him and reached for his hand. "Another nightmare?"

"How do you know?"

"I can hear Connie cursing from every inch of the building."

Unintelligibly, Eren muttered "That bald bastard.." before continuing his breakfast. Mikasa said nothing more as she ate her breakfast as well. Armin soon joined them with a skip to his step. He sat down and cheerfully ate in silence before making a face in Mikasa's direction. Eren secretly envied Armin's positive personality especially since Armin was the only one out of all of them who suffered from sexual abuse. That didn't seem to stop him though Eren did recall Mikasa letting him know whenever Armin had a mental breakdown. Nonetheless, Armin resolved to stay hopeful and studied constantly to distract from his personal dilemmas.

"Any plans for today?"

"Probably more training with Annie. You should join us instead of moping around in the nearby city."

Soon, everyone else joined them except for Krista and Ymir.

"They're probably having some good old lesbian frick frack." Reiner snorted as Bertholdt nearly spit out his food.

"Reiner, I'm eating.." He muttered before shakily grabbing for another piece of bread.

"Don't act like you're the virgin angel. I can hear you and Reiner fucking on the opposite side of the building." Annie's sarcastic voice caused everyone to laugh. Reiner grinned like he won a medal whereas Bertholdt turned bright red. Bertholdt looked like he just wanted to shrink in his seat and disappear.

"Don't be ashamed! Connie and I like to get it on all the time!" Sasha grinned from ear to ear as she kissed Connie's cheek.

As the only asexual in the group, Armin chuckled in amusement without looking uncomfortable by the sexual innuendos.

Krista ran downstairs in a flurry, her hair all over the place. She looked flustered and panicked as she anxiously wiped her bangs from her face.

"Someone is bright eyed and bushy tailed." Jean snickered.

"Shut up, pony boy." Krista's unusually angry retort stunned everyone into silence. "The authorities arrested Ymir!"

"What!?"

"We're fucked!"

"I'm hauling my ass out of here.."

Annie shouted for everyone to shut up. "Tell us what happened."

Krista nodded in thanks before continuing. "Well, as usual, Ymir gets up early in the morning to get the two of some muffins. She left a note behind like she always did. But, I waited. And waited. And waited! Ymir never took more than an hour, she's usually on time. I sensed some urgency so I snook into the city and in hopes to find her. I see the authorities wrestling her to the ground with handcuffs. Only Ymir saw me as she screamed for me to run away. We have to do something!"

Everyone started talking at once when Reiner gravely stood up next to Krista. "It's obvious that we gotta rescue to crazy freckled bitch. And I have a plan that just might work..."

 

* * *

 

Gathering at the scene of the kidnapping, everyone tried their best to split up in two groups of three.  Eren, Mikasa, and Armin ran off in the westward direction, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie headed east, Sasha, Connie, and Mina headed south, while Jean, Marco, Krista, and Thomas headed north. Physically fit and with nothing left to lose, everyone searched for Ymir with a vengeance.

"West Squad! Any signs of Ymir?" Reiner's authoritative voice gave the needed orders.

"No sign. We're going to head towards the school area." Armin calmly responded before Marco's panicked voice interjected.

"Guys! We need to change direction! They have us cornered! The police are chasing us, and they shot Thomas!"

"The fuck!? Now what!? SHIT! NO SASHA!" Connie's angry voice cut off the rest of the call.

Exchanging scared looks, the trio continued heading west. "We remember what Reiner's orders specifically stated. We have to keep moving even if others fall behind."

"Armin, we're losing one by one." Mikasa warned before Eren cut them off.

"So what? We fight! We have to keep fighting! I know that Ymir wouldn't let herself be arrested without a goddamn fight!"

"Be reasonable, Eren! Our comrades are being captured left and right!"

"Wait, Mikasa! I have an idea! Instead of running around on land, how about we head up?"

Mikasa and Eren stared at Armin with confused looks on their faces. Armin took advantage of their confusion and dragged them into a skyscraper.

"We're being too obvious, running around like chickens with their heads cut off. We need to act rational and find safety in the crowd. Come on, let's get to the rooftop." Armin quickly ran for the elevator with Mikasa and Eren soon following.

"Why are we heading for the rooftop?" Eren stared at Armin with impatience.

Armin smirked. "Because they have helicopters."

"But we don't know how to fly helicopters." Mikasa looked at Armin thinking he's gone insane.

"Maybe you guys, but not me. Why do you think I've been studying all the time in the city?"

"Armin, you're genius!" Eren laughed and slapped the blond on his back.

They entered the elevator in excited silence with Armin gleefully reminding them that people shouldn't underestimate him.

"Won't we attract attention in a helicopter?"

"Not if we wear disguises. Mikasa, you've been training with Annie constantly. You're in charge of knocking out three guys and stealing uniforms."

"What do I do?" Eren looked annoyed that he wouldn't be getting any action.

After leaving the empty elevator, Armin told them intricate directions left and right. They arrived on the rooftop as Mikasa silently snook up on three pilots. Armin's plan a success, the three boarded the helicopter wearing their stolen uniforms.

 

* * *

 

"You know, you should explain yourselves. It would make your lives easier and avoid unneeded bloodshed." Erwin's voice calm and triumphant as he stared at Reiner up and down. "Are you going to answer me, or do I have to use brute force?"

Reiner huffed in utter defeat at his failed plan. What could go wrong, went wrong as his comrades were swiftly arrested. Thomas was shot to the point that he ended up in the hospital in critical condition. Marco's group was the first to admit surrender with Connie's group soon following after Sasha was knocked out. Blind rage must have taken over as Connie attacked the pursuers without any rational thought.

Bertholdt and Annie fared well when they fought off several cops. But soon reinforcements appeared when the three of them were swiftly taken down. Reiner felt irritated that he was separated from everyone else in an interrogation room. He assumed that Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were captured as well.

"Pft..are you head of the police force or something?"

Erwin's smile caused shivers down Reiner's spine. "I used to be head of the Survey Corps Police Federation. But now, I'm head of the Trost Correctional Facility for Troubled Teens. Which is where you're all heading."

Reiner groaned when he noticed a woman wearing glasses enter the room. Her excited smile made him feel on edge as she rudely grabbed him by the chin. Being tied to the chair, Reiner couldn't fight back.

"I'm so excited to work through their minds and see what's clicking in there!"

"Easy Hange, we don't want them to end up like Thomas.." Erwin chuckled.

Reiner's stupefied look only encouraged Erwin's cheerful mood. "We've been watching you guys for quite some time. Our objective was pretty simple. Take down the head and everything else falls apart."

"WHERE IS YMIR!?" Reiner's anger gave him strength when he broke free from the seat. Several people entered the room and Reiner felt himself pinned to the floor.

Erwin's foot at his face, he knelt down and lifted Reiner's chin. "You're not winning this battle."

"Erwin, what do we do with him?" Another man's voice but Reiner couldn't see him.

"Taser him."

Before Reiner could respond, a sharp pain overcame him as everything went black.

 

* * *

 

"This is a pain in the ass. I still can't see anyone." Eren groaned while Mikasa patiently ignored him.

Armin's hope rapidly disintegrated when no signs of anyone could be found after two hours of searching.

"Armin, I becoming very concerned. Do you have another plan?" Mikasa sat beside him, watching his now nervous movements.

Eren paced around the foot of the helicopter when they suddenly shook.

"Shit!" Armin glanced around and instructed everyone else to buckle in their seat belts.

"WE'RE BEING ATTACKED OVER HERE!" Eren screamed.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!?" Armin started pressing many buttons at once causing the helicopter to shake at the sudden rapid pace.

Mikasa took Eren's hand and squeezed it very tightly, she felt certain they would crash and die. Eren glanced around and felt pissed off that he couldn't do anything. The siblings watched helplessly as Armin fumbled over the controls.

"We have you surrounded. Land the helicopter or risk being killed." Erwin's calm voice entered the room, although only Eren knew it was Erwin.

Without thinking, Eren unbuckled himself and ran to the back.

"Eren! What are you doing!?" Mikasa followed and Eren threw a backpack into her arms.

"We're jumping. No point in letting them blindly attack us!"

Armin set the helicopter into auto pilot when they all strapped themselves tightly. Mikasa threw open the door and counted to zero for them to jump.

Feeling a full adrenaline rush, Eren howled with joy as he imagined he was a bird flying through the air. They all landed somewhat safely and immediately took off running. Shots were fired but they kept running. Images of the three of them fleeing Sarah entered their minds as their adrenaline seemed to give them endless energy.

"As I said earlier, we have you surrounded." It seemed that Erwin's voice could be heard from every direction. That didn't stop them from running as more and more armed forces chased them.

"We have no choice, we have to fight them off." Mikasa reached for whatever weapons she had and attacked.

Following suite, Eren and Armin started to fight off the crowd. Kicking and screaming, both parties were becoming exhausted. It took ten men to take down Mikasa, though she still gave them a struggle despite being handcuffed. Armin was arrested unconscious from being tased since he had two guns in his hands. Only Eren stood as he fought tooth and nail against his enemies.

"I was right. You always did cause trouble." A silky voice behind Eren made him feel uncomfortable because he recognized it.

Eren whirled around and saw Levi standing there, a dangerous calm look upon his petite face. "Back off, I'll show you idiots how it's done." The men backed away from Eren at Levi's command.

"It's time I put you in your place." He calmly stepped closer and closer in Eren's direction. "I'll try my best to not kill you."

The sound of grunting came from Mikasa's direction as she viciously tried to break free. Eren slowly backed away, fear overcoming his rage. Why Levi. It was always Levi.

"Back off.." he feebly muttered despite knowing how stupid he sounded.

"Tch, you shitty brat. You're a liar too. Who would've known that your real name is Eren Yeager." Levi's silky voice became more venomous with every step.

Eren continued to back away from Levi, he certainly did not feel like getting the shit beat out of him again.

"You never know when to give up do you?" Levi shook his head. "Just give up before I snap and break your pathetic neck."

Levi's last comment made Eren's fear dissolve.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND SHIT! YOU KNOW WHY I DON'T GIVE UP!? YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IN THIS WORLD! IF YOU DON'T FIGHT, YOU LOSE AND DIE! I FIGHT BECAUSE IT KEEPS ME ALIVE! I FIGHT NOT ONLY FOR MYSELF, BUT FOR THOSE I CARE ABOUT! PEOPLE THINK I'M STUPID FOR FIGHTING! BUT I'D RATHER FACE THE PAIN OF LOSING THAN THE NUMB PAIN OF NOT HAVING DONE ANYTHING! FIGHTING GIVES ME A GODDAMN PURPOSE! A PURPOSE IN LIFE THAT KEEPS ME GOING! I DON'T FIGHT BECAUSE I FEEL ALL MIGHTY! I FIGHT TO UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT MY PURPOSE IN LIFE! Because...when you have a purpose, you feel validated... And all people ever want is to feel validated.." Eren panted from his angry rant.

Levi seemed taken aback but he continued walking in Eren's direction. "Very well, let the best man win."

Eren felt a stabbing pain in his back as Levi ruthlessly assaulted him in front of everyone. He could barely hear Mikasa's shouts as blood trickled down his face. Crippled on the ground in front of a bunch of people, Levi roughly grabbed his face before whispering in his ear for only them to hear. "Ever since you entered my life, you have made it a living hell. I hate you because I'm so attracted to you. You should just do me a favor and disappear."

He felt Levi let go and faintly watched the small man walk away as he was carried off.


	5. Contingency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in the 104th squad gets accustomed to life at the Trost Correctional Facility for Troubled Teens. Levi decides to confront Eren about his dangerous life style choices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to update more, I did not expect for people to be interested in this fic. Sorry guys!
> 
> As an explanation for my strange setting descriptions; I am legit making this up as I go and my imagination is confusing.

* * *

Eren

* * *

 

Eren woke up feeling quite startled, he wearily glanced around while groping in the darkness to turn on the light. Fortunately, the room was spacious when Eren stumbled over to where the light switch near the doorway was. The light's harsh glare immediately caused the teen to shield his eyes in frustration. Taking in his abrupt new surroundings, Eren noticed that he was in an unusual room. There was a simple bed with maroon red bed sheets, a single pillow, a chest full of drawers, a window and a tiny study area compromising a desk, chair and a tiny lamp.

"The fuck..." Eren continued to pace around like a caged animal wondering how the hell he ended up in this place.

"Eren! Eren!" Armin's voice could be heard from the opposite of the door.

Feeling confused, Eren ran over to the door and swung it open. He entered a circular white room, the bright light almost unbearable. He noticed the circular room was huge with sixteen doors all along the border. The last door was obviously the door that led to an exit. In the center of the room was a rather unusual sitting area full of chairs and awkward bean bags.

Armin was laying in one of the bean bags looking around with great delight. Sometimes Armin's good natured personality infuriated Eren, especially now since Eren was aware that they were locked up somehow. Suddenly, it dawned on him the violent events from last night. The surprise so sudden that he gripped his head, his migraine sudden.

"Eren are you okay?" Armin immediately stood up and placed his hands on Eren's shoulders.

"Hn..I'm fine..I think.. Where the hell are we? Do you know what's going on?"

"Apparently we are in the Trost Correctional Facility for Troubled Teens. This is basically a warehouse whose principles are to: educate, refine, and change the dangerous lifestyles of troubled adolescents. They work by five important principles that the teens must follow everyday. They are-"

"Forget I asked. Where is everyone else?"

Armin gestured to the other rooms and began explaining more about how the architecture of the unusual building worked. "There are different people in each of the rooms. Every single person has their own separate schedule also known as a rehabilitation plan. Everyone is separated by males, females, and non-binary folk."

Eren shook his head feeling more agitated by the second. "What the heck is non-binary?.."

"They stand for people who identify elsewhere in the gender spectrum. There's transgender, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender-"

"I get it. I get it. I'm sorry Armin I'm just not in the mood right now. Why the hell are you so cheery?"

Armin shrugged. "I'm just happy everyone is alive and safe. Between rotations, I have seen everyone from our gang. Of course no one is particularly happy, but I'm just glad we didn't get killed last night. In fact, Reiner, Jean, and the two of us live in the same oval room! All of the other guys are on the floor above us."

"What do you mean by rotations?"

Armin sighed but continued patiently, "As I said earlier. Everyone is on their own specialized curriculum. Mine involves a lot of education about understanding the government. They let you have the day off because when you were brought in you needed medical attention you were in such bad shape."

Eren shuddered remembering Levi's attacks. "So can we leave this room? The light is irritating my eyes."

"Yes, but look up." Armin pointed at the ceiling and Eren noticed a circle in the center which allowed people to see the sky. At that particular moment, day was in the process of transitioning into nighttime. "Pretty isn't it? I bet you can see constellations the sky is so clear."

Eren nodded, the sight was indeed quite pleasant to look at. He shook his head, there were important matters to take care of. "Let's get out of here. I'm surprised they let us walk around so carefree."

"Not exactly, Eren. Only on certain hours, just look at your schedule. And plus there are cameras watching our every move."

"Jesus Christ this is like fucking 1984 by that guy."

"You mean, George Orwell."

"Yea, whatever Armin! Hey, I'm sorry. I'm just feeling on edge." Eren felt bad for acting rash with his best friend.

Armin shrugged it off. "I understand..I'm feeling scared too honestly. But we can't let them know that."

Glancing at a digital clock on the wall, the two teens figured it was time to eat dinner. They decided to head to the mess hall and avoided the curious looks from the other young delinquents walking by.

"They have some sick ass tattoos.." One of the delinquents stared in awe, saying this loud enough for Eren and Armin to hear.

The mess hall was even more crowded, the scenery quite breathtaking. Whoever did the architecture clearly excelled at it. There were layers of "floors" with little stairwells leading up and down. The floors and walls were pristine white except for the huge window that reached from the ceiling to the floor. The tables were gray the chairs a simple black design.

"Hey, get over here!" Ymir waved Eren and Armin over.

They sat at a table with the usual gang, everyone looking tired with bruises covering their bodies. Reiner looked the most exhausted with dark circles under his eyes. He didn't say anything as he continued eating his dinner in silence.

"Are you okay?" Armin looked quite concerned.

"He doesn't want to talk about it." Bertholdt quietly vouched for Reiner before looking at him worried.

Eren decided he might as well eat something and got a tray. Standing in line, someone suddenly shoved Eren to the ground. "Get the fuck outta my way, dipshit."

Mikasa immediately rushed to Eren's side and helped him up.

"Oh shit, he's got a hot asian girlfriend. Where can I get one of those?" The gang of guys continued to make rude racist innuendos towards Mikasa. Eren bristled, his hands curling into fists.

"It's not worth it. Just ignore them." Mikasa was always indifferent towards insults from other people. All that mattered to her was the well-being of Eren and Armin.

"It's not right at all. Pieces of shit.." Eren grumbled before being shoved to the ground.

"Fight back, you crazy looking fucker!" The same guy who made the crude remark towards Mikasa stood before Eren. He had piercings in his right eyebrow and badly dyed orange hair that was spiked up.

Eren stood up and went to punch the attacker but Mikasa held him back. "Well at least I don't look like one of those Naruto weeaboo fans on acid." Eren sneered, snickering at the guy's face turned bright red.

"You think you're funny you piece of shit!" He punched Eren right in the face before Mikasa could respond.

Eren immediately flew at the guy, anger emanating from every part of his body. Mikasa tried to hold him back, but she knew that Eren couldn't be controlled when he went into rage mode. The guy was able to fight back at first, but then he realized that he was fighting a losing battle. A crowd was formed and people were screaming and hollering at the incident.

"Calm down, you fucking psyhcopath!" The Pein look alike pleaded for Eren to calm his anger, but it worked to no avail.

Suddenly, a tall man jumped from the ceiling right into the middle of the fight. He threw the orange haired guy into one side of the crowd and Eren into the other. Standing at his full majestic height, Eren could vaguely notice that he was even taller then Bertholdt.

The man turned towards the orange haired kid and sighed like he just dropped his fork instead of breaking up a fight. "Ryan, you need to stop provoking other people. Eren threw the first punch, but you started it."

Ryan stared down at the ground. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zacharias."

The man chuckled. "Call me Mike. I hate formalities." He turned towards Eren and Mikasa. "Unfortunately for you, I'm afraid you have to go to the disciplinary office. You did throw the first punch. Follow me."

Kids continued to holler but immediately made room for Mike. Eren followed him feeling unusually scared and cast Mikasa a confused look. He saw the rest of the gang gather around her before Mike shoved him into an elevator.

"Already fist fighting someone else on the first day. You have quite a reputation, Mr. Yeager." Mike leaned against the wall in a very casual manner.

Eren bristled and sighed. "Everyone tells me I have a really bad anger problem. I can't help, I just black out. And then the next thing you know-"

"I get it. You remind me of someone else I know. But I'm sure you'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Eren felt more on edge by Mike's calm demeanor.

"Well I don't. But I'm supposed to say that to everyone."

Eren groaned by Mike's unhelpful response letting the taller man push him down a long hall way. The hallway was unlike the rest of the building. The floors were dark purple and the walls a dark gray.

_The architect needs to work on his color schemes._

"We couldn't hire anyone else at the time. Besides, the colors add to the atmosphere."

Eren stared at Mike in disbelief.

"People think I can read minds. I swear I can't." Mike chuckled and shoved Eren through a black door. "Have fun, kid."

Eren had no time to react before he head a new voice.

"Have a seat, Mr. Yeager."

Whirling around, Eren saw Levi sitting at his immaculately clean desk. Fear immediately took hold of Eren's logic and his facial expression was very obvious.

"No promises I won't pummel you right now, brat. But I'll try to hold back if I do. Now sit down, Mr. Yeager."

Eren sat down in a somewhat slouching position, looking at his new surroundings. The room was white coupled with Levi's mahogany table made of the finest wood. The two filing cabinets behind him were a sleek black and Eren noticed the artifacts on Levi's windowsill.

"I'm right here, Mr. Yeager. Or maybe I should just call you by your real name,  _Carl._ "

Eren shuddered involuntarily before swallowing. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Much better, Eren. You are to address me as Mr. Ackerman. Do I make myself clear?"

Eren nodded eagerly as beads of sweat cascaded down his back.

Levi stood up and paced around Eren like a predator closing in on its prey. Eren's look of terror increased when he was the animalistic look in Levi's eyes.

"Tell me what happened in the cafeteria."

Eren shuffled and looked down.

"Eyes forward, Yeager." Levi sounded more irritated.

"I was getting dinner minding my own business with my sister, Mikasa. I was pushed to the ground and she told me to ignore them so I did. But they kept following us through the crowd and egging us on. They were saying racist and sexual things towards my own sister and it really pissed me off. The guy punched me and well..." Eren gulped before continuing. "I blacked out from rage and next thing I know, Mike broke us apart. So uh here I am..haha.."

"So I see. I'll have to talk to Mr. Lemmel myself. He has a bad tendency to attack newcomers. I'm unsurprised you snapped though the other brats are probably in shock. He has been here for a very long time and very rarely do other people react to his antics."

Eren's ears pricked, he had no idea that Ryan was the head honcho among the delinquents. He smirked knowing that if Ryan was the worst, he wouldn't have to worry about being attacked.

"Wipe that grin off your face, Yeager." Levi pursed his lips. "You're at a juvenile correctional facility, not some fucking family picnic."

Immediately changing his attitude, Eren gulped yet again.

"As punishment, you are starting tomorrow's tasks with double yard duty. I expect the hedges to be immaculately trimmed and precise. Any questions?"

"No, sir."

"Good." Levi sat on his desk and used a ruler to tilt Eren's chin up. "You need to get your shit together. Do you really want to spend the rest of you life on the streets?"

"What choice do I have. I was dealt with really shitty cards." Eren's irritated answer sparked an unusual mix of emotions from Levi.

"Just try to stay out of trouble. I'm not afraid to use force but if I have to, I will. You are dismissed."

Eren shot up and ran out of the room at lightning speed. He didn't bother to look back as fear propelled him to cross the entire building in a mere three minutes.

 

* * *

Levi

* * *

 

Levi was unsurprised by Eren's scared response. He was used to the students staring at him with great fear and respect. Eren was different though and although Levi hid his feelings well, he was hurt by Eren's reactions. Shaking his head, Levi wondered why the hell he cared so much for the troubled teen. Perhaps Eren reminded him of himself. Yes, that was definitely half of it. But Levi knew better as he stared at the floor with his arms crossed.

_Damn that attractive bastard._

He sighed and continued to do more tedious paperwork at his desk. Gazing back on his own personal life, Levi with calm breaths, remembered when he first realized he was homosexual. Until he met Farlan and Isabel, Levi held no attraction towards anyone. Actually, Levi disliked people period and everyone always managed to piss him off.

Farlan and Isabel were strange though, they managed to work their way into Levi's heart in the most unusual manner. Levi met Farlan when they were both momentarily caught by the police for stealing food and startling an old lady who worked at a bakery shop. Farlan's quick thinking earned Levi's respect as the two of them quickly escaped the bad situation. From then on, Levi decided that pointless allies could protect his hide. They made a rather informal and quick truce before setting off.

Isabel's story was an even more interesting tale to tell. Levi and Farlan stumbled upon her fighting off three men in the alleyway. Farlan immediately wanted to save her but Levi wanted to continue watching. He noticed Isabel's strong spirit and he was quite impressed by her ability to knock one of the men unconscious. Before Isabel passed out, the duo swooped in saved her. Isabel's outgoing personality is what surprised them the most. Instead of acting scared and thankful she laughed in the alleyway before exclaiming that the three of them really knew how to whoop some ass.

For weeks Isabel followed them around insisting on joining them. Levi was adamant in refusing her offer despite Farlan's lenient stance on the whole situtation. Finally, they let her join since Isabel's whining was seriously giving Levi a terrible headache. For months, the trio fought and lived together. Isabel looked up to Levi as an admirable older brother and Levi gradually learned to like. They were not mushy at all, the trio came off as abrasive and distant according to outside sources. But to them, it was true teamwork and camaraderie. 

Levi didn't notice his blatant feelings towards Farlan until the day he realized Farlan was abducted. He went into fury similar to that of Eren and swiftly killed the people who attacked him. Farlan was thankful yet stunned as they realized they were now truly on the run. Life got harder as Levi's feelings for Farlan increased. Farlan was all too aware thanks to Isabel's gossiping. He responded by avoiding Levi and becoming more distant. His reserved actions broke Levi's heart though it was expected.

"Heeeyyy Levi!" Hanji burst open the door startling the short man.

Levi nearly fell off his chair and glared at Hanji. Unfortunately, his trademark menacing glare held no effect on her. Hanji continued babbling on about some stupid botany experiment she was making the recruits take part in.

Rolling his eyes, Levi sauntered over. "So what is the point of telling me this meaningless shit?.."

"I just thought you needed someone to talk to. Besides, you looked a little sad."

"Mind your damn business, four eyes." Levi grumbled.

Hanji shrugged, she never seemed unaffected by Levi's short temper. "I'm pretty pleased though. I love our new addition of the non-binary settlement for our young recruits. I had a trans kid thank me for my input."

Levi nodded and rolled his eyes with great indifference. It was Hanji's idea to pay more attention to the gender differences between the students. Hanji preferred female pronouns despite seeing herself as a non-binary person. Levi recalled Petra asking Hanji several times her gender preference out of innocent curiosity. Every response was different and Levi assumed Hanji just wanted to mess with her head. It was true though, Hanji was the first non-binary staff member hired by the infamous Erwin Smith.

"Mike told me that you broke up a fight between Ryan and Eren. That new kid's got spunk! He will certainly make things very interesting." Hanji smirked with her trademark mad scientist laugh.

Indifferently, Levi poked her head with his mug. "Please don't experiment on the students, we don't need anymore of the authorities ratting us about because of your dumbass shenanigans."

Hanji laughed, "Ahh you never change, Levi! See ya later! And don't forget the staff meaning, Erwin needs your input on the papers!"

Levi nodded and was eager for Hanji to leave since she always gave him the worst of headaches. It was nighttime now and Levi was relieved of his duties since he finished his work early. Levi was never late, he was always on time and his work usually at its finest quality. He decided to walk around the dark building and watch the sleeping students.

Walking past Eren's door, Levi was taken aback by how peaceful the young teen looked. He almost reminded him of an angel, Eren's bow like lips were curved in a bright smile. His eyes closed, Levi noticed the long lashes and was able to appreciate the young teen's unusual angelic physical appearance. Of course, Eren wasn't awake and angry looking. This made it easier for Levi to observe him better. Levi liked when Eren was awake and lively, it made him who he is. Even though his eyebrows were always down, Levi loved Eren's eyes the most. Stopping himself, Levi ran his fingers though his hair in frustration.

What the hell was wrong with him? Since when did he care about some random snot nosed brat? It was not Levi at to be walking around the corridors day dreaming about some young delinquent. Levi groaned and walked home feeling angrier than ever. He didn't realize that Eren woke up and was watching him leave the room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at describing the inner mechanisms of a youth detention center.


End file.
